Set X64 Version Of WMP11 As Default Player In Windows VistaSet X64 Version Of WMP11 As Default Player In Windows Vista

If you are running 64-bit Windows Vista Operating System on your computer, you must be aware that the 32-bit (X86) version of WMP11 (Windows Media Player 11) is set as default media player. However, Vista 64-bit OS supports both, 32-bit (X86) as well as 64-bit (X64) version of WMP11.

WMP11 32-bit version is chosen as the default player in Vista to eliminate any compatibility issues related to codecs and other add-ons and plug-ins associated with DirectShow, as many of them are designed for X86 operating systems.

But these days there are a lot of codecs available which support X64 computing platform, especially the 64-bit FFDShow codec which has the ability to decode video as well as audio media files.

Keeping this perspective in mind, if you wish to set WMP11 64-bit version as the default player in your Windows Vista OS, you can easily do so by using any of the methods mentioned below.

Method 1:

WMP11 X86 version is located at the path “%Programfiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player” whereas the WMP11 X64 version is located at “%Programfiles%\Windows Media Player”. Hence, if you wish to use 64-bit WMP11, you need to launch Windows Media Player from the X64 location. For doing so, use the following process.

Click on Start button to open the Start Menu. Click on “Run” and execute the following command

%Programfiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe

As another option, you may simply create a shortcut for WMP11 on the desktop with location and target set as above so that you can easily access it.

Method 2:

In this method, you need to first execute the command “unregmp2.exe” in order to alter the OS shortcuts, so that they point to 64-bit WMP11. Secondly, you need to make necessary changes in the system registry to modify the file associations and set WMP 64-bit as the default program for opening any media file. Follow the below mentioned procedure to switch to 64-bit WMP11.

Open Command Prompt with elevated admin rights and type the below mentioned command followed by Enter.

%windir%\system32\unregmp2.exe /SwapTo:64

Go to Start and select “Start Search”. Type in “regedit” and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Within the right pane, check for the registry subkey named “Path”. Once found, double-click on it and fix its value data as “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player”. Also look for the subkey “(Default)” which is generally the first entry and set its value data as “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe”.

Finally, exit the Registry Editor

Anytime in future, if you wish to change or revert the default player in Vista back to 32-bit WMP11, you need to use the below mentioned steps.

Open Command Prompt with elevated admin rights and type the below mentioned command:

Reset the value data for the subkey “Path” back to “%Programfiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player”. Also change the value data for subkey “(Default)” and make it “%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe”.